EXTRACT FROM MARCH - APRIL 2007 NEWTHORPE  NEWS MAGAZINE Front Page   

There is a story about a minister who was walking through a town one day when he noticed a young boy carelessly swinging a cage around. Inside the cage were three frightened little birds.

The minister stopped the lad and asked him what he had and why. “Just some old birds”, he replied, “I’m going to take them home, have some fun with them, poke them a bit, pull out their feathers and watch them fight and I’ll have a great time.”

“But they’re not yours”, said the pastor.

“I found ‘em and I can do anything I want with them, and once I get tired of them I’ll give them to my cat.”

After a moment the minister asked, “How much do you want for them?”

“You don’t want these, they’re just plain, old, ugly birds and don’t even sing.”

Still the minister insisted and the boy asked for £10, which he received and went away bemused.

The minister put down the cage, opened the door and gently coaxed the birds out, setting them free.

One day Jesus and the devil were having a conversation. Satan had just come from the Garden of Eden, grinning and boasting. “I’ve just caught myself a bunch of people down there. I set a trap, used bait I knew they couldn’t resist, and got them all!”

“What are you going to do with them?” Jesus asked.

“Oh, I’m going to have fun with them. I’ll teach them how to hurt and abuse each other. I’ll get them to lie to one another, kill each other. Yep, I’m going to really have a great time!”

“But they’re not yours,” said Jesus.

“They are now, I found them and I can do anything I want with them.”

“And what will you do when you’ve finished with them?” asked Jesus.

“I’ll kill them.”

“How much do you want for them?”

“Oh, you don’t want these people, they’re no good. You might love them, but they’ll just hurt you in return. They’ll spit on you, curse you, and kill you. You don’t want these people.”

“How much?” Jesus asked.

Satan looked at Jesus as if he were mad and said, “Your life.”

Jesus paid the price. And on that first Easter Sunday morning, he picked up the cage, opened the door, and set us free.

Many blessings, James 

EXTRACT FROM DECEMBER 2006 NEWTHORPE  NEWS MAGAZINE Front Page 

Preparations area well under way in our household for my son's birthday, of course he has his expectations and often drops less than subtle hints at the kind of presents he would like. And no sooner will this momentous event be out of the way than the next round of gift wrapping is upon us in the form of Christmas.

It’s great to see children open up presents isn’t it? The way hours of careful paper choosing, wrapping and costly ribbon are discarded in a nano-second and the happiness of the revealed gift gives way at the blink of an eye to the next colourful package. Ah, the joys!

Eventually, as we get a little older (say over 75!) we are more able to gaze and wonder in appreciation at the individual gift before us.

John, writing in the bible, tells us that Jesus will be known be a name, Emmanuel, which means ‘God is with us’. John invites us to stop, gaze and wonder at the first Christmas gift: that gift from God the creator, who entered our world in humility and poverty. For in that child is our hope and purpose. Jesus became a child to Mary so that we could become sons and daughters of God.

The best way to enjoy the best Christmas gift is by unwrapping the first Christmas gift. By receiving Jesus into your heart and believing in his name you may be born again into the very life of God. Christmas is a time to wonder and a time to marvel in appreciation of God’s love.

 EXTRACT FROM JULY NEWTHORPE 2006 NEWS MAGAZINE Front Page

Last weekend, as I write, I had the pleasure of attending the annual meeting of the Baptist Union Retreat Group (BURG) in Bath.

John Rackley, the chair of BURG and minister in Bath spoke about the need for a healthy spirituality.
He reminded us that a life in balance is what matters to God

In the bible the prophet Micah writes: ‘Do what is just, love mercy and walk humbly with God’.
This means taking the material items of life (the experiences that make us who and what we are) and seeing these through the lens of the Spirit of God.
God’s Spirit gives a special vision through which to see our life’s experiences and make sense of them. To see our struggles, sorrows, joys and work as Christ would see them.

We were reminded that because of Christ we are not alone in dealing with the untidy mess of life.
Because of Christ we may have a sense of proportion when making decisions in life.
A balanced spiritual life is one that seeks to relate all of life’s experiences to God and from this to know His mind and be effective in doing His will.

The spirituality on offer here at Newthorpe hopes also to encourage a balanced spiritual life. The possibilities are there to share in various aspects of the life of the church that stimulate a spiritual balance: reflective Morning Prayer, communal services of worship, intercession during the Prayer breakfasts, fellowship after the service and at the Coffee Mornings, prayer notes available for personal quiet times, and so much more.

But it is up to each one of us to take advantage of the aids on offer, and up to each one of us to be aware that our own spiritual Christian walk be so balanced that we may act justly, love in mercy and walk in fellowship with God.

May God bless you and guide you as you seek to walk in his name.

James.